Appreciate All
by Star Sapphirex
Summary: Something traumatizing happened and Kagome hasn’t a clue. Unknowingly, she recaps the darkness in a journal entry. In the end, Inuyasha may be her key to the lock of void enshrouding her memory of ‘the incident’. Oneshot IxK


_Disclaimer: _Inuyasha cast…not mine. There may be an overuse of italics…

Something traumatizing happened; Kagome hasn't a clue. Unknowingly, she recaps the darkness in a journal entry. In the end, Inuyasha may be her key to the lock of void enshrouding her memory of 'the incident'.

_Author Note:_ A one-shot of InuKag. Some characters may seem OOC, but that is intended in the beginning. Readers will find out in the end. Thank you for reading this, if you have…Sorry if it sucks…first attempt at a fluffy one-shot.

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Appreciate All

_Dear Journal,_

_My earthly world had turned into darkness, transforming into a sea of black. I was unable to move at all as I stared blankly into the before-said surrounding, deprived of precious light. _

_My memories were wiped out…strange how I even remembered I had them to begin with. All I knew or recollected, if one may call it, was that I had been radically plunged into a deep ocean of isolated consciousness. Even then, it was not certain if it was a literal or figurative recollection of what had happened._

_But did that really matter? It did at the time since it was the only thing halting me from going into major fits of hysteria. I had disappeared from existence, yet somehow managed to exist afterwards. I had seemed to be trapped in a brutally-dark-lonely world and somehow had enough tolerance and strength to bare it._

_I was secluded, isolated. I was alone. I was going to go out of my mind when…it suddenly hit me. This fake existence, unable to enjoy the wonders of being human: it was **true hell** without the human sensation of literal, physical pain. Even that was a luxury…one that I did not deserve to experience in that realm of dead living._

Kagome is disappointingly called by her mother before she can continue her entry. However, after glancing at it for a mere moment, she smiles and nods in approval. She scribbles her usual signature at the end and rushes downstairs from her bedroom.

As she pokes her head into the dining room, she sees her little brother Souta, her grandfather Jii-chan already at the table for dinner. Kagome grins at this homely sight and goes to help her mother with the meals, but not without nearly tripping over their cat Buyo.

Food: Mrs. Higurashi's great autograph. Tonight is _nabemono_, prepared from a variety made with chicken, seafood, potatoes, and other vegetables, in a bubbling cauldron. Trays piled high with raw ingredients arrive at the table, then everyone pitches in with the cooking, finally eating together out of the communal pot. Steaming rice compliments the dish. They all eat in a rather content silence.

Then the usual night proceeds: Souta almost plastering his face to the television, Jii-chan blabbering on about his "signature" marketing products, and Kagome calmly speaking with Mrs. Higurashi. Buyo is oblivious as he sleeps in a comfortable corner.

Kagome eagerly packs her large yellow backpack, ignoring her mother's persistence of staying the night in the modern era. Kagome finally but irritably informs her that she promised Inuyasha and the others that she would return to the feudal era before the night ended. Mrs. Higurashi is about to ask for the reason to such a foolish promise, but Kagome already leaves the house, uttering good nights to all.

She routinely jumps into the magical well that dances with incredible sparks and lights as she teleported from the present time to the past.

As expected, Kagome is first greeted with a sweetly annoying silver-haired hanyou who lightly frowns at her somewhat late arrival. Surprisingly, he helps her out of the well and carries her backpack with no naggings, questions or complaints. When the half-demon swiftly lands his roughly soft lips on her cheek on their way to Kaede's village, Kagome crazily blushes and is further appalled. The hanyou slightly smirks.

The rest of the somewhat early night hustles in a clear blur but slows down to normal pace when the lecherous monk named Miroku announces that he will be sharing a separate hut with Sango, the youkai exterminator of the group. With that said Sango blushes a bit and signals her neko youkai Kirara to follow her to the other hut. Kagome oddly stares at the unbelievable scene. They all usually shared one hut together; there sure was enough room for them all. Her human traveling companions ditch her.

Kagome doesn't know what is going on and before she realizes it, she is curled into strong, lean arms while staring at her little kitsune-youkai friend Shippou who is sleeping near the fire on the other side.

A loving kiss on her forehead brings her back to the half-human that had captured her in his caring embrace.

Kagome shakily turns her head upward, "Inuyasha?"

The hanyou cutely tilts his head to her in acknowledgement. Kagome blinks in realization that she is in-between his sprawled legs, partly sitting on his lap. She looks away from him as her thoughts run. She is surprisingly comfortable, warm and safe. Inuyasha uncharacteristically chuckles, watching Kagome's face expose her inner thoughts.

His eyes soften as she adorably blushes. He tightens his arms around her, "Hey, Kagome, do you remem–"

Kagome snaps her head up only to painfully knock into Inuyasha's jaw. They flinch as Kagome's hand moves up to massage his slight injury as her eyes stare apologetically at him. Inuyasha reddens a bit and reluctantly moves one of his arms to grip her massaging hand. He leans into her hand, letting Kagome feel his facial skin, and then kisses her palm as if to say 'thanks, it's all right.'

Unfortunately, the beautiful moment is ruined with Kagome's out burst. As she jumps to her feet, spinning her body to face him, she sits her hands on her hips, "Okay! What the heck is going on here?"

Just then, Sango brushes through their curtain door. She smiles nervously on seeing Kagome's frustrated face. "Sorry. I was coming to take Shippou over. Kirara wouldn't stop whimpering."

As Sango picks up Shippou who is mumbling something about 'the bunny', she steps over to Kagome to bring her into a sisterly embrace with one hand.

After she leaves with Shippou, Kagome resumes her pursuit of knowledge. "Why are you guys acting differently? You always used to complain every time I was late coming back, but this time you didn't and you even carried my backpack when I didn't even say anything about it. And throughout the entire evening, you, Miroku, Sango, Kaede, Shippou and even Kirara were acting so strangely that it wasn't even normal. Miroku showed _less_ affection and more respect while the rest of you became even _more_ affectionate. What is going on? I don't –"

Kagome was rambling on and on, so much so that she didn't even notice Inuyasha getting up to kiss her. His mellow lips purses against hers; Kagome's eyes widen in surprise. Inuyasha wraps his arms around her waist so tightly that she is forced to arch her body into his. She gasps, giving Inuyasha the opportunity he needs to graze his tongue between her lips and into her mouth.

The new – yet familiar – sensation of this action makes Kagome's head spin pleasurably. She groggily closes her eyes, responding to Inuyasha's tongue with hers and flinging her arms over his shoulders. Inuyasha chuckles into the kiss, sending vibrations down Kagome's throat.

As soon as Kagome cannot handle the dominance war of tongues, they stop. Inuyasha moves his arms up and around her shoulders, leans his forehead unto hers and pecks her lips with his…

Once…

Twice….

_**Three times…**_

Kagome gasps a second time, startled by what that could mean. She looks up at him, tears brimming. Her hands fist, clinging to his red haori, and quietly sobs. _I don't know why I'm crying…_

Stroking Kagome's hair, Inuyasha pats her head comfortingly. After some time, Kagome whispers hazily, "This is like…déjà vu…" She seems to falter, her knees somewhat giving out. "Why…" She knocks out.

Inuyasha's eyes enlarge. "Kagome?" Her hands now only lie limp on his chest and her legs collapse. "Kagome!" Inuyasha drops to the wooden floor with Kagome in his arms. He searches her face for consciousness only to find none at all.

_NO!_ _I thought this was over!_ Inuyasha gently places Kagome's head on a cushion. He puts his acutely cute dog-ears to her chest, glad to hear her heart still beating. _Well_, he thought, _At least this time there is an improvement…and she KNOWS I really do love her now._

He lies down right next to her, lovingly enclosing his arms around her warm body. Nuzzling against her, Inuyasha kisses her cheek and woozily mumbles reassuring words of "comfort, encouragement, and love." The fire in the center of the room fades, seemingly either foreshadowing an event of the future or recounting an incident of the past.

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_Woh! Where am I? It's really dark. Where are the lights? Why do I feel very familiar with this surrounding? **Inu-?** No one is here…why? It's cold…I can see that in this pitch-blackness…but I don't feel it. I don't feel anything at all, at least physically. Wait…who was I going to call out to a few moments ago? Oh my gosh! My memory is gone! That's odd. Déjà vu…this is like my journal entry! Why do I remember that? I'm so confused. My sub-consciousness is trying to tell me something…Am I floating or am I standing? Is there a floor? I'm rambling…but there isn't anything else for me to— HOLY CRAP!_

A blinding black hole distorts the dark surrounding, and Kagome is pulled and warped into it.

"Hey, you!" calls out a voice.

_Who is that?_

"Wake up! Get up and off the floor this instant, young lady!"

Kagome opens her eyes to see a woman dressed in a dark blue business suit, formal but not too formal. Kagome stumbles to her feet, smoothing out the wrinkles in her usual school outfit. She looks around to find that she is at school in the middle of a bright afternoon. Well, at _a_ school anyway.

She looks at the woman again._ Mom?_ The lady in fact looks exactly like her mother. Kagome speculates why she acted so…much like a teacher.

"Excuse me, is there a viable reason for you to be staring at my face?" The woman scowls crudely.

"Uh, no…M'am?" answers Kagome sheepishly.

The lady scoffs, "Good, now, no more sleeping in the halls." She struts off. Kagome stares around, seeing other students just minding their own businesses. Some are doing the usual clique/group hangouts while others were doing differently "peculiar" things: sitting on the floor, messily eating snacks, reading (while sitting upside-down on the ground), swinging on overhanging pipelines, drawing, reciting poems, lying on the ground. _What kind of school is this?_

She looks at the walls that have signs with rules on them. There are only two rules:  
**1)** No chewing gum  
**2)** No sleeping in hallways or classrooms.

An eyebrow crooks up on her face. _I'm surprised there isn't any chaos._ Right then, two guys whiz by, one chasing the other. Kagome's hair flows in the direction they are heading. When she turns her head to look at them, the one being chased suddenly halts making the other bump into him only to fall on his rear painfully.

The guy still standing turns and gives Kagome 'the eye'. His black hair hangs over his back that is attached to his lean figure, seen through the usual black uniform. _Okay…that is either 'the eye' of interest or 'the eye' of intimidation. _He begins to stroll to her, smiling evilly and smugly. Kagome's thoughts run wild. _Either way it kinda scares me. I'm NOT waiting to find out! _

Kagome gulps and starts to run down the hall. She hears running steps gaining behind her. _Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!_ She takes a sharp turn around a corner, nearly slipping on the tile floor, and squeezes in between two slabs of wall. When she hears the steps fade moments later, she sighs in relief. Hands rise to her chest, trying to ease the hard beating of her heart and the pumping of the adrenaline.

_This is like an alternate universe. _Kagome raises her face to the ceiling, _that guy looks like Inuyasha…in his human form. After that encounter with my mother's double who was NOT like her at all, who knows if that guy is worse? _

She shuts her eyes, preventing tears from spewing out._ Why am I acting like this? I'm already so scared of something fake, so how will I REALLY react to something real…like Inuyasha's love, which he had silently professed to me through those 3 pecks on my lips. _Her hand moves to touch her lips that still tingled from his contact.

Kagome slams her head on the back wall and slides down to the ground, bringing her knees to her chest and sobbing quietly. _That's weird. My memory came back. What was that dark place before? Why was I there? Why am I here now? I have to find a way out of here._

"Oy, Kagome-chan," starts a deep boyish voice, "Why are you here?" Kagome gasps and stares at the "evil-eye" boy from earlier. She gives him a queer look and yanks off his hand from her shoulder. Walking out of her hiding place, she moves to leave. He takes a hold of her wrist.

"Gosh, what do you want?" asks Kagome, annoyed. She turns to face him.

"Aye, what is wrong with you Kagome-chan? Don't you remember that it's almost time for class?" The guy knocks a knuckle on her head, and Kagome flinches in pain. She holds a hand on her minor wound as he continues, "You have to carry this backpack." He points to a bag leaning against his leg. "I already made the job easier by bringing it here to you. Now, c'mon!"

Kagome gives a disgusted face, "You've got to be kidding me! I'm not your slave! If you are able enough to bring it here, then you can take it _yourself_ to your next class."

"Why are you being such a queer today? You ran away when I was trying to talk to you, and now you are rejecting the very thing that you said you would do everyday!"

Shocked at his response, Kagome finally decides to play along. _I had better not cause any more disruption in this…realm. Maybe I can find the answers to my questions this way._ Kagome smiles and laughs wholeheartedly, "Oh man, dude, you totally fell for it." She continues to chuckle and gives him this 'I-got-you' face.

He laughs, "Wow, you are really good. Anyway, let's go to class. It's across campus, so if we start now, we'll get there on time."

"Right!" Kagome picks up the brownish-black backpack gratefully and follows the boy's lead. They walk downstairs and out the double-doors into the dazzling tree-infested quad. The colors of green, blue, and white dance together as Kagome watches the other students do their own things. Her escort looks at her face curiously; she smiles sincerely at him, causing him to blush and look away.

Kagome giggles to herself. She makes her pace match his so that she is walking alongside him. "Hey, you call me Kagome-chan, so what do I call you?"

He adorably blushes again, "Um, Inuyasha-kun."

_Duh! I should've known that. Ahh, he's so kawaii (cute) when he blushes. It's so much more noticeable when he's human._

"So, Inuyasha-_kun_, where is _my_ backpack?"

He blushes redder (since _she _said his name with such endearment) and stumbles, "You d-don't need one. We share our textbooks, notes and supplies since we have every class together."

Kagome goes red in the face at the thought, "Oh… So, uh, who was chasing you before?"

Inuyasha brushes a hand through his black-luscious hair, "That was Miroku-chan. Gah, that guy is so perverted, he's gonna end up in jail. His harlot broke up with him, so he decided that he would try to 'relieve' himself with _me_. First off, I'm a guy. Second, I do _NOT_ swing that way even if he _is_ my friend."

Suddenly, Inuyasha stops her and turns to confront her, "Wait, why are you asking me these things as if this is your first time here?" He narrows his eyes at her suspiciously.

_Uh-oh, come up with something quick!_ Kagome panics, "Uh-I um, well, you don't get it do you? You are supposed to play along. Geez, you ruin the fun." She pretends to pout.

Inuyasha looks unconvinced, but overlooks her odd behavior and explanation because of her cute pouting face. As he turns away, Kagome misses the mischievous glint in his brown eyes.

Instead of going into their original destination, he averts to the shallow pond the school had in the corner of the large quad. Many other students crowd around it. Some are even in it, ranging from somewhat dried to totally drenched. They are all in their uniforms. Kagome looks on at the strange sight, and watches Inuyasha strangely, as he treads into the pond. The water level is up to his knees. He walks over to another classmate and begins a normal conversation with him.

Kagome becomes pissed off. Inuyasha is on the other side of the pond, so she shouts, "Hey, Inuyasha-kun! Don't we have to get to class? Yoh, I'm talking to you! Why are you ignoring—"

A quantum amount of water splashes over her. Her fluffy-rich-brownish black hair now sticks to her body and her clothes paste themselves to her skin. She looks on to find Inuyasha smirking. The other students gaze amusingly, but everyone else has the decency to not laugh.

Inuyasha laughs. Kagome's stunned face changes to raging anger. _Why does this Inuyasha piss me off like the other one!_ "I'll show _you_ funny!" She throws the backpack into the water, causing pond to rise in a mini tsunami drenching everyone in it…excluding Inuyasha who jumps out at the last minute.

_Damn,_ curses Kagome. Inuyasha gets back into the pond and douses Kagome again. She glares daggers at him, growls in frustration, goes inside the pond, and splashes him back. Her attempt is futile for she does not know the 'art' of drenching people; nevertheless, she gets him a bit wet. They go back and forth for several seconds until Kagome gives up and stomps out. Inuyasha smiles in triumph, loving the joke he has just played on her.

She cries in aggravation, which no one can tell because she is soaked. She jogs away from the pond, not caring where her legs carried her. "Wait," she hears from behind her. Footsteps are nearing from behind and Kagome does not bother trying to outrun them. She stops and slumps on the trunk of a tree, one of many that border the inside of the wall that blocked off the campus from the outside world.

After moments of waiting, Kagome is greeted with panting. She continues to stare blankly at the ground, tears still flowing freely from her eyes and down her face. Inuyasha just gapes at her, not able to say anything.

"You are a jerk."

Inuyasha's eyes widen at the harsh words. He had meant for the pond incident to be a joke. Maybe it was a little too harsh…okay, _really _harsh as a matter of fact. Actually, he doesn't know why he did it in the first place. Gosh, this girl drives him crazy.

He brings Kagome into an embrace, "I'm sorry, Kagome-chan."

Kagome pushes him away, still angry. Inuyasha's patience cracks…he never had a lot, "Damn it, woman, can't you at least appreciate that I am _trying _to comfort you? Can't you appreciate that I acknowledge my mistake and try to make up for it?" His tone changes negatively, "Maybe you don't…is that it?"

Kagome takes the questions to a far higher level of meaning. She sobs loudly, wishing that she were in that realm of nothingness again. She moves her hands to cover her face. _Something is really wrong here…is it me? Am I the problem? A burden?_

Inuyasha watches her cry, and ends up growling because he cannot take it anymore, so he grabs Kagome's waist and hoists her against the wall, behind the tree. Wind blows, making Kagome shudder. Inuyasha hugs his arms around her waist, and breathes hotly into her ear, "You cold, Kagome-chan?" He exhales warm air as he lavishes her ear with his moist tongue starting from her lobe to behind the ear.

Since she's still wet, his hot tongue has more of an effect on her than it would have originally. She trembles and whispers hoarsely, "What are you doing…"

He replies huskily, "Mmm…let's see if I can do this right."

_What does THAT mean! _Fear flickers in Kagome's eyes for a split second before becoming unfocused. Inuyasha arches and grinds himself against her intensely, igniting a warm sensation in Kagome's lower abdomen, all the while nipping and kissing between her ear and her neck. He lets his lips trail along her jaw, and then he kisses her chin.

He rests his head at the crook of her neck, running his nose down her neck. Kagome yanks his head upward and brings him into a brutally passionate kiss. When her tongue sweeps across Inuyasha's closed lips, he gladly accepts it.

One of Inuyasha's hands are entangled in Kagome's hair; the other around her small waist. Kagome's arms are wrapped around his neck, fingers massaging his scalp. Passion, craze, and zeal flow generously between them until Kagome runs a leg along the inside of his. Inuyasha moans into their lovemaking, causing Kagome to smirk and pull back. Inuyasha pouts playfully.

He leans his head against hers. Kagome pecks his lips three times, "I do appreciate you, Inuyasha-kun…more than you knew before. I'm sorry I don't show it very often."

Inuyasha gives a gigantic grin, making Kagome smile back. The bright surrounding grows purely white, even in the shade. _A sign of my return to the real world_, thought Kagome. After they give each other one fuller kiss, the last things that Kagome feels are the warmth of the double Inuyasha-kun's lips on her own and the warmth that filled the void in her heart.

_I'm back to the realm of dead living, except it's not so dead. There's light everywhere now and I have my memories this time. This was what Inuyasha, the real one, was trying to ask me. He wanted to know if I remembered what had happened: when I had run through the barrier near **Mount Inazuma**_ _that separated my mind from my body. I ran because…I was mad, mad at everyone. I thought they thought I was in the way. I thought they didn't want me there. Then when I finally returned from this hellhole, I could not recollect a thing, at least consciously. _

_That incident was why everyone was acting differently. When I was gone, they thought they had lost me…forever, so when I came back, they were all overjoyed and decided to be nicer, be more mindful and aware of what they say to and do for me. I did not appreciate them as they did of me. They had learned a lesson from my disappearance, I hadn't. That's why I returned to this place. That's why it was so familiar. Through the…experience in that alternate universe, I discovered the reason for the void in my heart, reflected in the darkness of the dead living realm. _

_Heh, even there, Inuyasha helped me realize the feudal era situation after I had returned from the modern era earlier. My journal entry makes sense now and this explains why I was so disappointed when Mom called me down to dinner. I would've subconsciously remembered anyway if she didn't. Maybe…this was fate, showing me the fault in my own unhappiness and telling me how to fix it. I need to appreciate what I have and what I don't. I have to put an extra effort to make it known that I care and that I don't get scared if something good comes my way._

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Kagome wakes up to the musty air of the feudal era. The sun shines through the cracks of the hut. She feels warm inside and out. Turning to her side, she meets Inuyasha who did not sleep a wink last night. He stares at her, tired from concern and anxiety. He seems so out of it. In fact, he _is_ out of it since he does not even react to her waking.

She smiles and scoots closer to him, placing her lips on his. Moving her hand over the side of his neck, she massages his sensitive spot somewhere behind his ear. Suddenly, Inuyasha comes to life with his dog-ears twitching excitedly. He kisses her back, glad to _have_ her back…again.

After running out of breath, they end the 'lovemaking session'. This time they respond in time and to each other with the three pecks: "I…love…you". They laugh, filled with joy and love.

Reluctantly, they sit up at the sound of people arriving. Miroku, Sango, Shippou and Kirara meet them with content faces. Each take a turn to embrace Kagome who insists that she hug them…even Miroku who _didn't _touch what he isn't supposed to, under the supervision of Sango's scrutinizing eyes. They all share in some joyful laughter.

"You guys," starts Kagome, "I really do appreciate all of you. I understand everything now." All smile gratefully, slightly wondering where the praise came from…except Inuyasha, of course.

Kagome suddenly gasps, remembering to do something. She gets up hastily and runs outside to the time-traveling well with Inuyasha following her. "Where are you –" interjects Inuyasha.

"I'll be right back, don't worry!" Kagome shouts before she gives him a kiss and falls into the well. She climbs out and rushes into the house, the bright sun happily greets her. No one is home except for Buyo who is sleeping. Souta is at school, Jii-chan is in his 'marketing' shed, and Mrs. Higurashi is out shopping.

Kagome bolts through her door and swiftly pulls out her Journal. Skimming to the most recent entry, she is glad that there is enough space for some last sentences:

_Back then, I did not even appreciate what I had…I complained. I've learned since then._

**THE END**

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Dedicated to** XBlackRoseX909**, **Nightmare800**, **raina**, **kouji** and to those others that like/love InuKag "fluffiness." 

This is actually based off **a dream** I had a while back. The "alternate universe" was my dream...and NO, Inuyasha was NOT in it (it was another guy). The story is…wow, this is 10 pages…huzzah! By the way...sorry if this isn't good...I have a feeling I might get flamed...**T-T**


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